A young Thai woman searches the world for the lover that has forsaken her, struggling with her own personal demons and finding herself caught up in a massive criminal organization known to the world as Sheol. UPDATE: COMPLETE!

"Look at her,
training like that pretending she's still a pure-minded
warrior…it's such a disgrace…"

"A doctor from the
city came a couple of days ago: he said she had a condition that
makes it so that she can't help herself…"

"But that
doesn't mean she has to give in to that disease like a cheap
whore. She brings shame to our village and her
father."

Areva didn't pretend not to hear the middle-aged
couple whisper about her as they watched her chop at the tree with
devastating right-legged kicks, but she could not deny such
less-than-flattering gossip. She had become a cheap whore,
and nothing she did would change that fact.

To those outside
of her home village, Areva was a twenty-year-old Muay Thai prodigy as
beautiful as she was skilled, with a deep tan, long black hair, and
impressive bust to compliment her toned figure made possible from
years of rigid martial arts training. She periodically
traveled to the city to enter martial arts tournaments, usually
leaving them with the top prize to support her modest village.

To
those within the village, however, she was the daughter of the
village chief who was diagnosed with nymphomania: a psychological
condition that gives the patient an unusual desire for sexual
activity that was made apparent when news spread of her having
numerous sensual escapades with some of the village men, and even a
couple of city-dwelling folk: it was extremely fortunate that no
pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases came as a result from such
behavior. Even though this condition was not extremely
uncommon on the world stage, it was enough to label her a harlot by
her people when originally they had considered her the jewel of their
land.

Even now I can feel my body trembling, and not just from
the impact of this tree, Areva thought grimly before quickly jumping
away from the tree to prepare for a less-practical technique. My
unclean body is matched only by my even filthier mind: they have
every right to shun me.

Her left elbow glowing with her ki,
Areva swiped at the air with the elbow and let loose a wave of energy
that cut into the tree six feet away. This technique,
considered the trademark move of her village, was proof of her
prowess, but mastering the move only made her feel worse. All
it meant was that she was simply a very talented outcast.

Taking
a deep breath, Areva turned away from the tree and looked up into the
sky. Muay Thai had a reputation as being the "sport of
kings," so she couldn't help but wonder what her ancestors
thought of her when they looked down upon her from the heavens. A
woman practicing the traditional style was uncommon enough, and her
battle attire of a zip-up black tanktop with black and pink boxer
shorts accompanying her blue-and-purple arm tassels even more so: was
her unfortunate mental disposition the breaking point from being
unconventional to downright sacrilegious?

"Areva," a
familiar male voice broke Areva's train of though, causing to turn
in the direction of the voice. "Come inside, there's
someone I would like you to meet."

Areva obeyed
her father, but wasn't sure what to expect once she had entered
their hut: she had spent the past four nights outside in a sleeping
bag she purchased in the city because her father refused to allow her
into their home. It seemed out-of-character for someone as
stern as he was to simply let her back in with open arms. Tossing
aside her doubts, Areva entered her home and sat down in front of her
father.

As she did so, however, she noticed that
they were not alone.

"So this is your daughter," the
stranger only glanced at Areva via peripheral vision, rather than
grace her with his full attention. "She does seem like
she practices vigorously…"

Areva, on the other hand,
turned her head fully and took note of the stranger: he was dressed
in a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt, with ruffled dark brown
hair and a pair of glasses sitting in front of his face--a face which
was decisively not Thai. Areva felt a shiver go down her
spine when she found herself lost in the man's calm features: she
did admit he was quite handsome, but she didn't need that reaction
caused by her nymphomania to tell her that. He's
definitely an outsider…Japanese, from the looks of it. What
business does he have here?

"Areva, this is Keiichi
Kobashi," the village chief broke the brief-but-tense moment,
causing her daughter to snap to attention which in turn caused
Keiichi to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. "He witnessed
one of your battles in the city, and was very impressed with your
technique, so much that he found our village and requested that he
learn its training secrets so that he can improve his own art."

"But
father, it took me years to master our art: how long does he expect
to be here?"

"As long as it takes, miss Areva," Keiichi
allowed himself the slightest smirk upon hearing her unspoken
objection. The smirk faded, however, as lifted his head to
meet the village chief's gaze. "Sir, if it is not too
much trouble, I would like to begin training as soon as
possible."

"I won't be the one teaching you, at least
not immediately," the chief replied, finally breaking Keiichi's
aura of calm and forcing him to lift his head up in surprise. "My
daughter Areva is the most skilled fighter in our village: she would
be more than capable to teach you the ways of our culture. In
fact, how about the two of you stand up?"

Obeying him, both
Areva and Keiichi left their kneeling positions and stood up. The
hut wasn't too awfully spacious: there weren't many things they
could do except leave, shake hands, or…

"Areva,
Keiichi…tae chieng!"

Instantly recognizing the command,
the couple's left legs shot out into the air with precision and
cohesion, their legs angling high so that their feet were level with
their faces. Doing this kick correctly was impressive
enough, but the two martial artists managed to allow their legs to
remain angled as if they were posing for someone.

Rotating her
head and looking at Keiichi's form, she noticed the hardened
expression in his face. What a fearsome glare, Areva
thought as she took note of the outsider's cold grimace. That's
not a look of a fighter, but of a killer…

------The
present…

A ringing bell from a nearby bicycle broke
Areva out of her daydream and allowed her to once again focus of
waiting for her boat to arrive. It was easy to reminisce
about kinder, simpler times, but she couldn't afford to do such a
thing with her mission in front of her.

Areva should have
taken more note of Keiichi's fearsome glare that day, because in
the weeks that followed, she let her guard down, and was ready to
confess her love to him before she found her village burned to the
ground after coming back from another tournament in the city, and her
father's last words telling her Keiichi was the one
responsible.

Now she stood at the docks of Ayutthaya, where
she was waiting for a boat to take her to the capital city of Bangkok
so that she could begin her search for the man who had betrayed
her.

I don't know why he did what he did, but I promise
that I'll find out, Areva gripped her father's burned mongkon
in her hand tightly before placing it back in her bag. Once
I do that, I'll make sure he pays for his sin!

Even
though Areva wasn't entirely comfortable about leaving the precious
few survivors of the village to themselves, she felt that it was her
duty as the village's new leader and as a warrior to seek out
Keiichi. While she had no real clues as to his
whereabouts, she figured Japan would be an ideal place to start, and
to get there she had to take a boat down the river to Bangkok, where
the airport was located.

Turning around upon hearing a shout,
Areva looked behind her to see two strong-built men pushing around a
considerably smaller and older Thai gentleman. This sort
of bullying happened all the time in the city, and was one of the
reasons Areva only ventured outside her village for tournament
business and gathering supplies. Before she jumped to save
the gentleman, however, she waited and listened to the conversation
that was transpiring between them.

"Hey, mate, we tried
asking nice, but the organization we represent has been really
persistent about wanting to sell our goods in your shop, and we won't
take no for an answer," the Caucasian man with slicked-back brown
hair shoved the old man off his feet while his partner, a bald man
with a deep tan, watched on with expressionless eyes. "So
here's your last chance, before me friend and I get rough: will you
add our modest product to your catalog?"

"I told you, I
refuse to sell your drugs," the elder man spat back, trying to
fight off the trembling sensation that had overcome him.

"Well
then, that's really a shame," the brown-haired man smiled,
looking as if he had hoped the old man would refuse his offer. "I
guess we'll have to use force then, won't we?" As he
raised his fist back to deliver a punishing blow, the man heard the
familiar noise of grunts and blows landing behind him. Turning
around, he saw his silent friend lying on the ground in a pool of his
own blood, with Areva standing above him.

Forgetting
about his "client" for the time being, the man glared at Areva
and pointed an accusing finger at her. "What do you
think you're doing, love? Are you lookin' for an
ass-beating?"

"Just because you are a guest in land
doesn't mean that you have to act like an imbecile," Areva
retorted before assuming her fighting stance. "Leave
that man alone or I'll do the same to you that I did your
fri-"

Areva's ultimatum was cut short by a shiver that had
interrupted everything she was doing. Her nymphomania was
beginning to bother her again, and her opponent took the opportunity
to slam her into the ground with his massive hand before turning his
grip into a stranglehold. "What's the matter, love:
quakin' in your boots? Don't make arguments you can't
back up I alw-AIIII!"

Shooting her leg up with blinding
speed, Areva kicked the man in the stomach and forced him to
relinquish his hold on her. Letting her unstable condition
add fuel to her attack, Areva pressed on her assault with quick
snapping kicks to her foe's shin. After the sixth kick,
the man fell down on the leg that was being assaulted, and allowed
Areva to bash his face in with a powerful thrusting knee as he
kneeled down.

Quickly scrambling back on his feet (though
grunting when the pain in his attacked leg returned), the man blocked
a quick elbow with his hand and tried to grab the arm for a
counter-attack, but Areva pulled it back quickly and took advantage
of her opponent's miscue and collided her opposite elbow with his
head.

Grabbing onto her opponent's shoulders while crouching
down, Areva rubbed her body against the man's before rocketing back
up and launching him into the air with her right knee glowing with
her bright-blue ki. Jumping into the air with her
opponent, she drove both knees into the thug and they both came
falling down onto the docks, with Areva on top of her foe.

Areva
moaned as she struggled to regain control of herself: the trauma of
seeing her village in ashes had given her nymphomania an almost
sadistic edge. Keiichi had once told her that sexual
desire and violent intent used the same chemical in the brain, and
she certainly believed him now. Pressing her forehead
against the bloodied man she was sitting on top of, Areva took out a
photo from her jeans pocket and slowly put it next to his right
eye. In a voice that resembled a seductive whisper, she
said to her hapless sparring partner, "Have you seen this
man?"Quickly glancing to the side, the man
fumbled with his words: half-terrified of what she was going to do to
him if he gave her the wrong answer, and half-wondering just what
it was she was going to do to him if that was the case. "Y-yeah
I know the bloke…h-he is the one I've been answerin' to the
past couple of days."

Such an answer was enough to knock
Areva out of whatever pleasure high she was feeling and her tone
changed into a louder, more forceful one. "Do you know
where he is now!?"

"Y-yeah…he took a plane to Sydney
this morning because he had business to take care of there: if you
took a boat down the river to Bangkok and used their airport, you
should still be able to run into him by the time you get there,"
the man took note of the complete change in complexion from his
attacker and broke out in a cold sweat accordingly. "P-please
let me go! I promise me friend and I won't bother your
town again!"

"Make sure that you don't," she spat back
as she jumped off the man and kicked him away. Before she
had even left her hometown, she had already found a clue to her
former lover's whereabouts. The sooner I find him,
the better, she thought as she turned to the boat that was
approaching the dock. I don't have enough money to
look for him very long and expect to have enough to come back
home.

"Hey mate, it's best that stay away from here
for the time being," Areva turned around to hear her former
opponent say that to his accomplice that was just beginning to regain
consciousness. "That lady is a total loony!"

He's
right about that, Areva looked at her bloodstained hands while
the two men stumbled away from the docks. That
sensation that came over me wasn't like my normal breakdowns: it
was something twisted and evil. It's given me a mental
edge in combat, but I'm not sure if that's a good
thing…

----Meanwhile, almost 2000 miles
away…

Keiichi placed the plane phone back into its slot
on the seat in front of him and let out a deep sigh. One
of his subordinates had ran into trouble trying to persuade a key
figure on the Thai market to carry one of their "alternative
medical solutions," and that meant his own superiors wouldn't be
too pleased. He himself could care less what happened with
their product, as there were many other locations across the globe
the organization could set up shop, but a failure was a failure, and
he would have to answer for it.

However, the crimes that
have been bothering me lately are the ones that my superiors actually
approve of, Keiichi looked out his window into the legions of
clouds just beneath the aircraft. I've killed many
people in my relatively brief time on earth, but none of those deaths
have made me feel as disgusted with myself as those that I added to
the tally two days ago.

For the past six weeks, Keiichi
himself had positioned himself in a Thai village several miles away
from Bangkok with the intention of obtaining a certain type of
vegetation grown only in that area of Thailand. Disguising
himself as a martial artist seeking to learn the traditional Muay
Thai fighting style, he attempted to earn the trust of the villagers
so that he may obtain their crops for his own use: something he
succeeded in doing, perhaps all too well.

While my
technique is a furious raging fire, my heart has always been cold as
ice, as well it should be…so why did I become so attached to that
place?

The reason, he told himself, was that he allowed
himself the ultimate hiccup in the life of a criminal deviant: he
fell in love.

His usual sparring
partner during his time in the village, a young woman named Areva,
had grown incredibly close to him in a short period of time. Being
the last surviving member of an exterminated criminal family, Keiichi
had denied himself any real female contact for the purpose of one day
taking his revenge against the one who slew them: his adopted father
and the head of their organization, Lance Levesque. By
allowing himself to develop a relationship with Areva, he gave the
organization a weakness for them to exploit so that he would be
degraded from simply being their henchman to their puppet: a weakness
that they took advantage of when they ordered Keiichi to set the
village ablaze and take the crops. Unable to forget his
quest for power and vengeance, Keiichi complied and burned the
village to the ground while a group of underlings ransacked the
village.

At least Areva wasn't there at the
time: I don't think even I would have been able to carry out that
order if she were involved. But that's why it's best
that I get the hell out of here: I'll never see her again, and
that's definitely for the better. As Keiichi told
himself that, he looked at his left arm to see the blue-and-purple
tassel still tied around the sleeve of his black button-up shirt. He
still wasn't able to sever his ties completely, as he carried that
tassel with him wherever he went, as a reminder of those peaceful six
weeks and how vulnerable he truly is.

Of course, Keiichi had
no intention of letting his superiors get away with ruining the only
happiness he had in his life since the death of the Kobashi clan
fifteen years ago: he intended to speed up his plans for a coup, and
for Levesque to die at his hands. Once he had done that,
he would become the head of the organization and acquire the power
and influence that was always truly his.

For
now, however, I will continue to act as his trophy and his agent,
Keiichi mused while he looked away from the window and reached for
his bag. I'll drown this guilt in an ocean of chaos,
once I get to Sydney to do my business. Pulling out a
laptop computer and a DVD box, Keiichi switched the computer on and
opened the CD tray on the side. The DVD was that of his
favorite motion picture, Mothra. Putting the DVD
into his computer, Keiichi allowed himself the slightest of smiles as
the logo of Toho Ltd flashed across his computer screen.

The
film Mothra was a giant monster movie focusing on a gargantuan
butterfly-like creature of the same name: she was a benevolent
goddess who rose up to destroy Tokyo when her two priestesses
(ironically, exceptionally small women) were taken from her island
and exploited by a Japanese businessman who intended to use them as
his own personal money-making devices. While considered
dated in an age where huge budgets and spectacular special effects
were valued over using the imagination, Keiichi never grew tired of
watching Mothra tear through his homeland in an effort to reclaim
what is hers: in fact, he had her likeness tattooed onto his
chest.

This also happened to be the favorite film of his late
mother, before the organization decided to do away with the Kobashi
clan. Whenever Keiichi felt his ambitions waver, he
watched the film over again to remind him of what had been stolen
from him, and the glorious havoc that would be wreaked upon those
that did them harm when the opportunity finally presented
itself.

Unfortunately, his dearest Areva was still in his
mind, and not even Mothra was letting him forget about her. How
troublesome, he mumbled as he finally advanced past the opening
credits, but such is the path to victory…

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